| "I was looking at 52 empty sets on the trading floor." This remark from Tim von Halle, formerly with Merrill Lynch and now in charge of building an international fixed-income business for West Merchant Bank, spread like bushfire throughout the Euromarkets. Head-hunters swarmed around, sensing the smell of easy fare. Resumés landed thick and fast on his desk. Why did the personable von Halle leave the financial security of the league-topping Merrill Lynch for the WestLB group, whose Euromarket star had faded? In fact, von Halle, a Brit who speaks German, was the ideal choice. At Merrill Lynch he had achieved superstar status by being a member of the group (including Edson Mitchell, Grant Kvalheim and John McNiven) that made the firm the premier Euromarket new-issue house. Did he feel that his Merrill career had reached a plateau when he was moved to Frankfurt? Certainly within the fiercely competitive Merrill the power centres are clearly recognized as New York and London. Now von Halle is back in London, which he far prefers, with a mandate to build West Merchant into a serious international fixed-income player rather than a niche trading house. |